Q3 at 8 years old!

This week, while checking through LinkedIn, I noticed numerous prompts to congratulate many of my colleagues on their “eight years at…” work anniversaries. Of course, it then dawned on me that it was eight years ago in April, when the newly born Q3 emerged blinking into the world of FM.

Where has the time gone?

We arrived against a strange market backdrop, witnessing the collapse of Carillion, and a sector-wide financial malaise which saw many other FM companies restructuring and struggling to survive.

At Q3 however, the new team exuded feelings of excitement and optimism, bringing with us a lifetime of industry experience and a determination to make an impact as the new challenger-disruptor brand.

Despite some early challenges, such as no suppliers, or previous clients wanting to take a chance on us, no credit, no mobile phone contract, and no income stream, things gradually started to click. We won a shopping centre in Barnsley, an M&E contract at Chelsea Harbour and bought a cleaning business in the Channel Islands.

Things were all going swimmingly, but if in 2018, had we known what was coming down the line, we would probably have all called it a day right then, and walked off into the night.

Nobody had been reckoning on Covid 19, but In a way, it was the making of us. The team’s experience came to the fore, and we stepped up to work with our clients, adapting to the new situation and continuing as much as was possible, to deliver business as usual.  This was pro-active FM and partnership-working at its best.

But the rocky road continued. There followed a stream of successive Prime Ministers and Chancellors and then a change of Government, which led to a never-ending stream of legislation changes – impacting employment and paternity rights, National Insurance, not to mention jumps in the Real Living Wage. For good measure, there were also three major wars and a fuel crisis – with the consequent negative impact on the UK economy.

But I am proud to say that we have ridden the storms, and been resilient, steadfast and innovative to keep ahead of the game.  We stuck to our guns and have always been communicative, open and transparent with clients, employees and suppliers alike.

This has allowed us to create a profitable, sustainable business I am proud of – sustainable in the broadest sense, not just “green”.  The growth trajectory looks great through 2026-27 and I realise we are living the dream, even if at first it appeared to be a bit of a nightmare.

Patience is a virtue. We realised very early on that not everything would go our way. We just had to ride each situation and manage it – not overreacting and throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

I learned also that in a crisis you have to trust and stick by your people and follow your moral compass. Then, you will come out the other end, better and stronger. The original strategy of choosing the right clients to work for has paid off because the diversity of our client base has helped sustain us through difficult and challenging times. And particularly, seizing the potentially risky opportunity to increase our scope of operation to include the Channel Islands, has paid dividends. Today, it has evolved into the largest cleaning operation across Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney, contributing significantly to the Group’s turnover and profitability.

So, as we embark on our 9^th year, I extend a grateful “Thank-you” to everyone at Q3 who has come along for the ride. It has certainly had its moments, with more to come, I’m sure.